Placement On Sight & Sound Top 50 Movies List: #12
We have plenty of movies about people falling in love, with the subgenre thriving because of people of all genders getting to live vicariously through the characters on-screen engaging in a perfect romance they know can't possibly exist in the real world. There's plenty of those movies I like but I also tend to gravitate heavily towards movies with more realistic depictions of romance, specifically, one's that show people in either romantic partnerships or marriages that are crumbling and how that deteriorating relationship affects both people. That's why Richard Linklater's Before Midnight is so excellent, among many many other reasons!
Another movie that fits that bill of "watching two people formerly in love come to terms with their lack of affection for on another) is the 1954 Robert Rossellini movie Journey To Italy, which does feel like a kindred spirit to Before Midnight in some ways, including the fact that both tales take place in a distinctly European setting. Journey To Italy, specifically, takes place in Italy (I know, such a shock) as Katherine Joyce (Ingrid Bergman) and Alexander Joyce (George Saunders) head off on a trip to the exotic locale in order to maybe salvage their marriage which has been going downhill for sometime.
Once they get there though, the duo's problems just can't be solved by some pretty scenery and they eventually spend the majority of their vacation apart from one another. Katherine wanders around museums containing artifacts that frequently reference the topic of relationships or lovers while Alexander takes a fancy to a local girl, a situation that does not end well for me. It's all written, directed and executed by the actors in a restrained fashion that feels perfectly suitable to the material, as anything that bordered on the grandiose would very likely undermine the more intimate moments that make the two lead characters crumbling relationship feel like a tragedy.
Look at how Alexander's brief fling with a local woman he meets at a party ends not with a large shouting match or some other showy confrontation but rather with the lady in question simply and calmly telling Alexander that her recent bout of happiness can be attributed to her making up her sweetheart. It's not only a smart subdued way to end this particular subplot but it also demonstrates to Alexander that wounded relationships can be mended, albeit with plenty of work on the part of both participants. It's a lovely moment exemplifying the kind of restraint Journey To Italy frequently flourishes with,
At the center of all that muted storytelling are two actors who basically carry the movie on their shoulders acting-wise since the few supporting characters we meet aren't around in the plot for long. Ingrid Bergman and George Saunders are the two individuals headlining Journey To Italy and they do a splendid job with the project. They both are able to play the part of tired couple out of love exceptionally well and realistically while carving out individual personalities for their characters in the process. It also must be said that, as a person who would consider the original animated Jungle Book film from Disney to be one of his favorite movies ever, it was quite stupendous to have a human face (in the form of George Saunders!) to apply to Shere Kahn's formidable voice.
Even in the few moments where it feels like the plot is stagnating a bit, these two actors keep Journey To Italy plenty interesting. This tale of love lost in Italy takes advantage of the narrative opportunities of the very basic concept of exploring a couple on the verge of breaking up in an understated manner that director Robert Rossellini thrives in. This is a trip that Katherine Joyce and Alexander Joyce frequently find emotionally trying but it's a trip you yourself should totally take if you're in the mood for thoughtful and quitely tragic cinema.
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